


Prompt: Christmas Lighting on a Tram

by siriuslywinchester



Series: Formula 1 RPF Prompts [13]
Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: A Christmas Carol, M/M, trams
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-25
Updated: 2015-02-25
Packaged: 2018-03-15 05:02:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3434537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siriuslywinchester/pseuds/siriuslywinchester
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nico is a tram driver who is <i>very</i> enthusiastic about Christmas.  He likes to decorate his tram, much to the annoyance of his conductor Lewis, who hates Christmas.</p><p>But the newly decorated tram causes weird things to happen inside the carriage, can Lewis be persuaded to enjoy Christmas after all?</p><p>Written for <a href="http://winterbreakprompts.tumblr.com">winterbreakprompts</a> prompt #24 and slightly based on A Christmas Carol</p>
            </blockquote>





	Prompt: Christmas Lighting on a Tram

**Author's Note:**

> sorry for the christmas theme in the middle of february. it's only 10 months till christmas!

Nico had been driving trams for almost fifteen years and every Christmas he enjoyed nothing more than to deck out his tram with tinsel and other Christmas decorations. His conductor, Lewis, - a friend since they had both been toddlers - hated everything about Christmas and complained annually about Nico's child like festive spirit. He thought Christmas was for children and hated the decorations, insisting to Nico that they always looked tacky and caused safety issues for passengers.

This year though, Nico had decided that he was going to decorate the _outside_ of the tram. That way, Lewis wouldn't actually have to see them while he was working and therefore had no grounds to complain about it. 

Nico spent a long winters night preparing the decorations, draping row after row of fairy lights down either side of the tram. He had just laid the final row when Lewis arrived for work.

"What the hell have you done, Nico?" he asked, disgust written across his face, "Surely this isn't safe?"

"Oh who cares," Nico said, walking to the drivers cab, "Look, I bet even you can't deny it looks beautiful when it's lit."

Nico flicked the switch inside his cab and the lights flickered on the full length of the tram. Nico grinned, admiring his hard work, thinking how joyful the children would find it, and hoping it would fill his passengers with as much Christmas spirit it filled him. 

Lewis looked the length of the tram up and down, shook his head and opened one of the carriage doors to climb aboard,

"At least you haven't ruined the bloody insides this year," he mumbled grumpily, attaching his money belt around his waist. He closed the door behind him, leaving Nico to further admire his own work.

\---

Later that day, after the mad rush of passengers heading home from work, Lewis seated himself in one of the carriages, swaying slightly as the tram traveled along the tracks. He was half day-dreaming, half looking out the window, and he could see the trams reflection in the windows of the shops they were passing. The Christmas lighting on the tram, which Lewis was still unimpressed by, was turning the reflections into a blur of light that was slowly hypnotising him.

He closed his eyes for barely a second before being jolted awake as the tram turned a corner. When he opened his eyes, he saw a ghostly figure sat on the bench opposite him. Lewis recognised the figure as Nico when he'd been about four or five years old. He was wearing a a woolen jumper with a Santa's head on.

"I am the ghost of Christmas past," the figure said, grinning in the same way Nico used to when he was a boy.

The figure stood up and walked down the carriage slightly. Lewis followed him with his eyes, wondering whether he was dreaming or not. The ghost of Nico sat cross legged on the floor of the carriage which magically converted into the Rosberg's home, decorated in the same way it had been the year Lewis had spent Christmas with them.

Lewis gaped as he saw himself, at the age of four, materialise in the scene. 

Nico was playing with a toy car that he'd just unwrapped, a gift from Lewis and his parents. The car was silver and green and had a big number 6 on the front. Little Lewis had a parcel beside him that he was patiently waiting to open. 

He remembered this moment - they had given each other the same gift - the same car just with different numbers on their noses. 

Little Lewis finally ripped open his gift and laughed with glee to find the same car as Nico's, the only difference being the number 44 on the front. Both young boys laughed, immediately clearing the floor for a race, both making engine noises and crawling as fast as they could around the room with the cars under their hands.

Lewis watched as the image drained away, thinking back to that day. They had spent hours racing those cars together. Lewis still had the car somewhere, it had been one of his favourite gifts. He smiled to himself, wondering where it was and whether he should remind Nico of the fun they used to have as children. 

The ghost of young Nico stood before him, watching him closely,

"Now do you remember the joys of Christmas?" the boy asked, cocking his head to one side as he waited for an answer.

"I remember it is joyful for children," Lewis replied, "But it is pointless for adults, there is no fun once you realise Santa isn't real but the expense is."

The ghost of Young Nico shrugged, walking towards the trams door and stepping through it into the night. Lewis turned to see out of the window, but the ghost was gone and all that remained were the hypnotic reflections of the carriages decorative lighting. 

When Lewis turned back to the inside of the carriage he jumped, startled to find an old man sitting opposite him. The old man had a strange, ghost-like appearance and as Lewis examined him closer he could see Nico's features hidden beneath the wrinkles.

"I am the ghost of Christmas future," the old man said, his voice croaking.

This time the man didn't rise and walk down the carriage, but the scene shifted where they sat and Lewis found himself at a kitchen table within the scene. The Older Nico sat opposite him, shuffling limp vegetables about his plate, an un-pulled cracker sat next to his glass of water. A slow tear ran down the old mans face, dripping into the gravy that flooded his plate. He looked up to the side and Lewis followed his eyes.

On the sideboard next to the stove, Lewis saw an urn. The man opposite him sobbed loudly, tears falling faster onto the plate. Nobody came to comfort Old Nico and when Lewis tried to grip his hand to offer sympathy, his hand passed straight through the ghost.

He stood to get a closer look at the urn, and the inscription made his heart stop:  
 _Lewis Hamilton. RIP. 19th December 2059_  
Lewis turned around to face his old friend, terror across his face, but the scene had disappeared. The man was no longer crying, but looked at Lewis solemnly.

"Do you now see the need to find joy in Christmas?" he asked.

Lewis was overcome with emotion, fighting back tears, his mind racing, wondering if that really was the date that he would die.

"How am I to find joy in Christmas now that I've seen that?" he questioned the ghost, fear breaking his voice.

The ghost didn't reply. It stood and hobbled slowly towards the back of the carriage, opening the door into the engine room and closing it behind him. Lewis got up and followed, opening the door to find the room empty, the ghost disappeared.

He closed the door, convinced that he was losing his mind, and turned back into the carriage. 

This time he found it split into two scenes. To his left, he saw a ghost of himself with Roscoe and Coco, his pet dogs, laughing and playing happily as they often did. To his right, he saw a ghost of Nico alone watching an old rerun of Christmas TV shows. His friend had a half empty bottle of whiskey on a table beside him, his face full of misery despite the laughter and glee on the TV. The figures before him appeared to be Lewis and Nico as they were now, the same age, even the same clothes.

The ghost of Nico's lounge was filled with christmas decorations but the card rack was empty, the stocking hung on the fire was empty too. There were no presents under the tree, like there had been that day when they were toddlers. As Lewis watched, Nico turned towards him, leaning forwards in his chair. 

"I am the ghost of Christmas present," he said miserably, slurring from the amount of alcohol he'd consumed, "Did you know that this was my Christmas plan for this year?"

The ghost gestured around him at the empty food packets scattered on the floor, the empty cans of beer crumpled and abandoned on the sofa. The ghost of Nico glanced enviously across at the ghosts of Lewis and the dogs who were still enjoying themselves, Roscoe licking Lewis' face while Coco fetched a ball.

"Now maybe can you find some Christmas spirit within you?" the ghost of Nico asked.

This time Lewis didn't reply. Gulping back tears, he walked down the carriage between the two scenes, heading for the door that lead to the drivers compartment. He hadn't noticed it happen, but during the last vision, the tram had pulled into the depot and Nico had switched off the engine, the Christmas lighting turning off with it.

Lewis pulled the door open and stepped in beside Nico, his best friend, grabbing him in a bear hug. 

"Nico, would you like to come spend Christmas with me, Roscoe and Coco?" he asked, tears over flowing from his eyes.

Nico laughed, untangling himself from Lewis' hug and holding him at arms length. He brushed a tear from Lewis' face with his thumb, smiling kindly.

"I'd love to," he said, "I'll even cook if you like!"

Lewis grinned, tears still falling from his eyes, and he turned to the ignition switch in the cab, flicking it back on.

"Maybe next year we should turn the carriage into Santa's grotto? I could be Santa and Roscoe and Coco could dress as elves," he said, stepping out of the tram and smiling at the glittering carriages before him.

"Wouldn't that completely _ruin the bloody inside_?" Nico asked, grinning as he handed Lewis a tissue to wipe his eyes with.

He wasn't sure exactly what had happened to Lewis during the day, but he was going to complain about it.


End file.
